The Registered Trustees of the Abuja Original Inhabitants Youth Empowerment Organization (AOIYEO) have filed a suit against the Federal Government and the National Assembly for not recognizing the FCT as a state. The suit seeks to grant FCT the same status as the existing 36 states in Nigeria, complete with their own governor and more seats in the National Assembly.
The FCT High Court, presided over by Justice Sylvanus Orji, has fixed April 24, 2023, for the hearing of the suit. However, the absence of legal representation for the president and attorney general of the Federation led to an adjournment of the proceedings until that date.
The suit, marked FCT/HC/CV/85/2023, alleges that FCT natives are being discriminated against and denied fundamental rights by not being accorded the privileges and rights to participate in elections to vote and to stand for elections into legislative and executive bodies, such as the state House of Assembly and Governor of a state, like their counterparts in the 36 states of the Federation.
The FCT natives further argued that being denied state status amounts to a denial of their right to dignity and freedom from discrimination as enshrined in the Nigerian constitution and the African Charter on Humans and Peoples’ Rights. They also pointed out that they are the only people in Nigeria governed by a Minister as a Governor acting for the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The lawsuit seeks to enforce the fundamental right to freedom from discrimination and dignity of FCT natives, and will be eagerly watched by many